A Rocking Battle
by Chesscal
Summary: Octave City is full of music. It also has a gym. Who will win this battle- the calm, strategic challenger, or the loud, rocking leader?


Note: This is a requested fanfiction for Barbacar. PM me if you have your own requests.

Octave City was a busy city. It was chock full of various stores, cafes, and monuments that attracted tourists from all over the Artifex region. It was full of street performers that played many different melodies with many different instruments. Its most noticeable attraction however, was the gym. During the day, it was a place where people could challenge Rachel, the gym leader, to a battle against her rock type Pokemon. At night, however the gym doubled a stage where Rachel performed concerts when she was in the city, free of charge. This made the city a perfect target for Jerry K. Tyler, an experienced trainer who needed three more badges.

Jerry, a raven hair boy, checked his watch. He had arrived at around 1:30. The moment he stepped foot into the city, he began his "gym- scouting" routine. His first step was to understand the city. He rented a bike and traveled through the entirety of the place, checking every nook and cranny and leaving no stone upturned. He found the gym in a concert hall, the second weirdest place for a gym after the art museum in DaVinci Town. He watched as multiple trainers confidently stepped into the gym. Many minutes later, some strode out with puffed up chests to show off a badge, while others flew right out of the top and landed on conveniently placed cushions. He also heard lots of pounding and cymbal crashing. After this he pulled out his notebook and wrote his first notes on the gym:

"Gym seems to be rock music oriented. Based on the puns on billboards, gym probably uses rock types. Also, Gym Leader Pokemon most likely have large blasting attacks."

Step two was to ask the locals about the gym leader.

He casually strolled up to a couple of guys walking their Growlithe and Lilipup. "Hey," he began, catching the attention of the duo. "My name's Jerry. I'm wondering if you could answer some questions for me?

The guy walking the Growlithe looked confused, but at the same time, seemed as if he was trying to hold in a laugh. "Lo siento," he said, giving his friend a smirk. "No hablamos tu idioma horrorosa." He snickered, and accidentally released a large amount of flatulence. Both him and his friend burst out laughing. Not noticing that their Pokemon had ran away.

"Tus perros han corrido lejos de vuestro." He remarked, using his father's language. "Pero, si respondeis a mis preguntas, en ingles, dire vuestro donde tus perros fueron.

"We're sorry about that," said one of the men. We were just trying to prank you."

"And look where that got you. Now I want answers. Better make it quick, or your precious Pokemon may get squished by a Gogoat."

"Okay, okay," responded the other with a bit of haste. "What do you want to know?"

"First tell me everything you know about the gym."

The two men looked at each other nervously . "To tell you the truth, we don't know Jack Squat about it. We just got here from Unova. All we know is that she uses rock types. That's it."

"Well then," Jerry snapped. "Thanks for the information. It was as helpful as saying that water is wet. And your Pokemon are at the pretzel stand down the street."

Jerry marched down the street. He was not appreciative of those two. Even if less than five minutes, they still wasted his time, so he wasted theirs. The Growlithe and the Lilipup had actually gone the other direction. Two calm his nerves, he decided to go to the local café.

When he entered the café, the first thing Jerry noticed was the color. EVERYTHING was brown. Not a smooth brown like chocolate, but a darker brown. That plus the walls' patterned wallpaper gave the feel of a tree.

"Welcome to Tree Roast. How can I help you?" A barista stood patiently as Jerry thought for a moment.

There were so many different things to choose from, so in the end, he ordered a coffee with lots of sugar. He would need it.

Once he had received his drink he began to set up for Step 3: Final Analysis. However, since Step 2 had failed, he would have to improvise.

He reached into his bag and grabbed a notebook and his laptop. He started off by copying his notes down, and almost finished when his mouse began to move on its own accord. It was then that he noticed that his laptop, usually silver, was a bright orange color.

He chuckled to himself. "For once Rotom," he said. "I might actually need you.

The computer made a weird giggle and opened up the internet browser. Jerry took a sip of his coffee and typed in "Octave City Gym". The results were once again, repetitive. Rock type gym, music band theme, and lots of explosions. He was, however, able to find a forum that explained her team:

TheBowtieKiller: _Hey I keep getting crushed by Rachel's first Pokemon. Do you have any tips Also, what does she have next_

Chesscal: _As you may have figured out already, Rachel uses rock types, and she prefers to use ones that deal explosive damage. If you are having trouble with her Crustle, I recommend finding a Poliwhirl in the town over._

Ej313Det: _Along with Crustle, her next Pokemon are Tyrantium, Tyranitar, and her signature Rhyperior. They all have a very explosive finisher._

N30NB14Z3: Yeah. Don't forget about her music theme. I think she uses her drums to distract u from hearing what she tells her 'mons to do as well as not letting u gives orders.

Jerry furiously took notes from the forum. He collected lots of information and was also able to create the team he would use out of the ones he frequently used.

He was just about to leave when he heard clamoring outside. He sat down and waited patiently when he heard someone yelling about the gym leader. He looked over just as she entered the cafe.

The first impression he had of the gym leader was edginess. Mostly because of her clothes, which were all black. The same with her bag. She looked like a literal rockstar. She wore a set of black wireless headphones around her neck. In her pocket were a set of drumsticks with multiple random parts covered in electrical tape. She had red hair that looked like it had been charged multiple times. Her demeanor was one of joy, as if she was genuinely excited to be surrounded by all of her fans. Judging by the pen she had pocketed, Jerry reasoned that she had just signed a few autographs.

Jerry decided to look over his notes one more time. He realized a few mistakes he had made, and he hurried to fix them. He had just changed an error on Carracosta's attack strategy when he heard the chair opposite to him begin to move. He looked up only to find himself face to face with the gym leader herself.

"Hey there." She said. Up close, she smelled like smoke.

"Um… hi." Jerry blankly responded. He was confused about what was happening. "Can I help you with something?"

"Nothin' much." She smiled. She seemed to be about Jerry's age, give or take a year. "Just that I have a strange fascination with oddities like you."

"I'm an oddity? How?"

"You didn't just freak-out when you saw me. Most people try to get me to sign somethin' or sing a song. But those one or two people, who don't mess their pants just by my presence, those are the coolest people."

"Huh." Said Jerry. In his mind, he was trying his best to wrap his head around the thought. He had met new adults, middle age, and even a guy as old as Arceus who were gym leaders, but never had he met a gym leader who was his age. "That's interesting ta know." He mentally cursed himself for letting his accent slip. That only happened when he wasn't thinking straight. _Was it the fact that she's this chill, or the fact that she's kinda hot?_

The gym leader pulled out a pack of cigars and a lighter from her bag. "You want one?" she asked.

"I'm good, I don't smoke." He replied. The fact that she smoked at her age was distracting, but it was enough for him to change the focus on something other than her looks.

She shrugged before lighting one and putting it in her mouth. She held her hand out towards him. "I'm Rachel, by the way."

"The name's Geral- I mean Jerry." He stammered before shaking her hand. He felt more embarrassed about his second slip-up in 10 seconds. He hoped that she hadn't noticed it.

Unfortunately, she had. "You almost said something else." Rachel teased as she puffed out a plume of smoke. "What was it? Jared? Gerald? I think it sounded more like Gerald to me."

"I'd rather not say."

"Whatever." She shrugged and looked down. She noticed Jerry's open notebook, which sported a picture of a washing machine shaped Rotom. Rachel swiped it up before he could react. As she examined it, her expression went from surprised to a sneaky grin. She looked up at Jerry, who was internally facepalming himself for not putting it up. Externally, however, he gave a blank expression like a child caught doing something wrong.

"So…" Rachel chuckled, leaning over the table. Jerry noticed that her eyes were hazel. "You want to challenge me?"

"Yeah." Jerry replied, trying his best not to blush. _She is really hot._ "That's why I'm here."

She stared at him longer. "Oh really?" Jon tried to look somewhere else to relieve his discomfort, only to realize that the entire café was watching them.

"Well then," she resumed as she began to stand up. "As a gym leader, I have to accept your challenge. I'll get you scheduled for 12:00 tomorrow. Be ready!" She walked out of the café at a leisurely stroll, leaving behind nothing but the odor of smoke. "And one more thing!" she yelled at the front door. "At my gym, there are NO rules!"

A few minutes later, Jerry packed up his items to leave. "Alright," he muttered. "Let's get ourselves a washing machine.

* * *

At 11:55, Jerry found himself at the concert hall. Inside was an architectural marvel. Glass and silver were everywhere. Different columns had different designs attached to it: guitars, music notes, and of course the official Artifex Pokemon league logo. Besides that, the place seemed to be full of everything music. Piano lessons were being held in a small room to the right, and to the left was a sign that read: "Jigglypuff Songs for Insomniacs: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30". And right by the biggest door, which Jerry assumed was the gym, was a big booth operated by a young man with a blue vest and green shirt. As Jerry approached him, he noticed a set of small radios and a laptop.

"Velcome to ze Octave Ceety Gym!" he said. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Yeah," replied Jerry. "My name is Jerry Iglesias."

"Let's see… yup! Your appointment eez ready." He handed Jerry one of the radios. "You veell find zat ze main stage eez guarded by a beeg gate! However, zer ees a remote under a seat en ze hall. Ze radio will give you patterns for your seat in zees order: Note name for ze entrance area, time seegnature for row, and zen number of notes for seat! Find it, and zen you can battle ze gym leader!"

Right on cue, the radio played a sound. Unfortunately, Jerry had no experience with music and had no clue where to start.

The man must have noticed Jerry's confusion and chuckled. "You know, zat peeano class vill play your note for you. Just press ze red button on ze radio."

Jerry decided to take advantage of the tip and found his way to the piano room. He made a combee-line to the lessons. He slowly opened the door as to not interrupt the lesson.

Inside, a woman was sitting on bench next to a little girl. The girl was quickly playing a melody on the piano without missing a beat. Jerry wondered why he couldn't do that, until he remembered that at the girl's age, he had been operating a candy racketeering bracket as his school.

The little girl finally stopped playing and turned to look at Jerry. She gestured at her teacher to look.

"Hello," said the teacher softly. "A trainer, I assume?"

"Yes mam," Jerry replied as he held up his radio. "I was told that you could help me with my challenge."

"Why, certainly! Just play the note, and Miss Annie here will tell you. That's fine, right Annie?"

The girl named Annie nodded, and then she shut her eyes and turned towards Jerry. Jerry pressed the red button, and the sound played again.

Annie pondered over it for a few moments before opening her eyes. "That's an F." she replied before turning back to the piano. Before she began playing the teacher spoke up. "Gate F is up those stairs on the right." Jerry thanked them both before heading out, pausing for a moment to listen to the splendid sounds that he heard.

The next two parts of the puzzle were a breeze. There were pamphlets outside the doors for the basics of music, and Jerry found a remote under Seat 4-13. It had a big blue button followed by a note under it: "Go to stage before pressing. Have Pokeballs ready." Jerry took a glance at the stage before he left and noticed a large curtain with a big chunk of metal connecting it to the floor.

Jerry hurried down to the main door as quickly as he could. He stopped at it to grab 4 Pokeballs and attach them to his belt. Right as he opened the door, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the guide from the beginning with a bottle of water.

"Heer," he handed Jerry the bottle. "Zees veell help very mooch!" he shook Jerry's hand and went back to his stand.

Jerry looked at the door handle. For some reason, despite his normal, collected demeanor, he was nervous. _Maybe,_ he thought. _I can stay here for a moment._ For him, he was not nervous because of a battle, but everytime that he thought about what was to come, his adolescent hormones gave him thoughts about Rachel, but the thoughts were of her in very inappropriate positions. _Why are you thinking these things? You have a battle to do, GO!_ Taking a deep breath, Jerry opened the door.

* * *

The walk to the stage was long. It gave Jerry plenty of time to think about his strategy, but his mind was still plagued with those images and thoughts. He bit his tongue to shock himself, and he soon found himself at the base of the stage. He pressed the button and waited as the curtain rose slowly, and sidestepped a sudden set of stairs that popped out. When he ascended the steps, they receded back into the stage. It took forever, but the curtains rose to reveal a dark area.

"It's about time that you showed up!" shouted the amplified voice of Rachel. The lights flashed on to reveal her sitting at a drum set. A few feet in front, a Crustle stood in a battle position. Jerry noticed some electrical tape that was used as a crudely made field. Jerry stood in the trainer area and grabbed his first Pokemon. His heart was pounding, and he heard cheering. He turned and noticed several people filing in to seats.

"Carracosta, let's do this!" Jerry flung his Pokeball towards the field. The large, blue turtle Pokemon released a large roar and a big stretch. The rock and bug type across from it glared and scuttled around.

A voice from some speakers sounded. "This official gym battle between Leader Rachel and Challenger Jerry begins now!"

"First off- Carracosta! Use Shell Smash!" Carracosta curled into a ball and flexed, causing a layer of its to crack and fall off. It stood up and moved into a defensive position, stamping its feet in challenge.

Rachel did not make a sound. Rather, she put on her headphones and picked up her drumsticks. "This," she shouted. "Is how you make a move!" She raised the drumsticks and brought them down. The result was a constant sound of drums being pounded on. They worked so fast that sparks flew onto her cigar and light it. Jerry figured that she used the new metal head sticks for a louder sound.

The Crustle responded by curling into a ball similar to Carracosta's and a layer of its shell fell off. Both Pokemon sized each other up, matching breathing and glances towards trainers.

Jerry shouted "Use Aqua Jet!" as the drum almost drowned him out. Carracosta rushed up towards Crustle as a barrier of water surrounded it. Crustle, on the other hand, rushed up with glowing black claws at a speed that matched Carracosta's.

The attacks collided with a huge crack that even those in the nosebleed section heard clearly. The knockback greatly affected both Pokemon. Jon had to jump out of the way as the Turtle Pokemon landed with a thud where he would've been. He helped up Carracosta, before shouting "Use Aqua Tail!"

The ensuing battle was filled with loud bumps and thuds. Two bulky Pokemon were fighting with boosted power, and the result was not pretty. Drums sounded, and voices shouted with intense vigor. All the while, Rachel made not a sound, nor did her lips move. It confused Jerry. _How in the world can she battle without speaking?_ He thought. _It can't be a sign, because her hands are always playing those drums…. Wait a second! Drums! She's using certain patterns to give orders! If I can find a way to disrupt that, I'm guaranteed to win!"_

Jerry noticed that both Pokemon were wobbling precariously now. He'd need to finish it to use his plan.

"Let's finish this- Use Giga Impact!" Carracosta dashed off. It caught lift off and sped towards its opponent using all its body weight. A new drum rhythm sounded, and the all the fallen rocks surrounded one of Crustle's claw until it resembled a long rod. The Pokemon moved towards Carracosta and reared back its rod hand. A moment later, the attacks connected in a huge crash.

When the dust settled, Crustle was seen to be knocked out. Carracosta, however, was gone. Jerry looked up to see his Pokemon hurtling downwards towards him. Had it not been for its weight, it probably would've left the building. He ran and just managed to avoid being squished. He retreated the Pokemon and noticed two Pokemon, a Tyranitar and a Tyrantrum, glaring at him from Rachel's side. He was about to protest when he remembered her words at the café before she left. He reached towards his belt for his next two Pokemon: Machamp and Rotom, who was shaped like a washing machine.

This time, he wasted no time. "Machamp, use Low Sweep on the Tyranitar! Rotom, go in for a point-blank Hydro Pump!"

Immediately afterwards, the drums played. The Tyranitar rushed Machamp with bared fangs, while the Tyrantrum stomped forwards with an eagerly shaking tail. Machamp slid down to kick out Tyranitar's legs from under itself. The attack worked perfectly, as due to the green Pokemon's slow bulk, it did not have enough time to avoid the incoming strike. It fell like a stone and was returned to a Pokeball.

Machamp, just as it was getting up, was struck square in the head with a large silver tail that belonged to the resurrected dinosaur king of the world. A critical hit like that was too much for the four-armed Pokemon, who fell in a similar way to its previous opponent. It did, however, manage to grab the Tyrantrum and slam it into the part of the ground that Machamp would've landed on. The Despot Pokemon struggled to get up before its burden was removed. As it stood up, it received a jet of water to the face. The Rotom closed the door of the washing machine it possessed to stop the flow of water. It floated around innocently as it awaited the next move.

The Tyrantrum stumbled backwards, weakened and very angry. A controlled slow beat had it roaring loudly followed by multiple jets of rocks rushing towards Rotom.

"Dodge them and over its head!" The Rotom nimbly dodged the sudden rocks and levitated right over to the head of the Tyrantrum at a fast speed.

At just the right time, Jerry snapped his fingers. "Rotom, release and head forwards!"

Just on top of the dinosaur Pokemon, Rotom left the washing machine straight towards Rachel. The washing machine lost all momentum and landed straight on top of the Tyrantrum. It fell onto its side and lay still with a washing machine on its side. Satisfied with the result, he turned towards Rotom.

His plan had worked. Rotom had connected to the nearest electronic: Rachel's headphones, which were now a bright orange. The plan was to mess with the mechanisms inside. Had that not been electrical, the plan was to connect to the amp and mess with the drum. Now he would bring out his final Pokemon and win the badge.

Jerry pulled out his last Pokemon. In it, his last Pokemon stayed waiting. His _first_ Pokemon. He looked up to see a large yellow Rhyperior looming over him. He tensed up as a reared back his hand.

"It's time to finish this! Lucario, go!"

A Lucario appeared, ready to fight. Its blue fur was sleek and shiny. It had a look of alertness about it, and on its neck, there was a chain with a multicolored stone attached to it.

Rachel grinned and lit her drumsticks on fire. She had really gone all out with fireproof too. "Here it comes!" she yelled. "The final battle!"

Wasting no time, Jerry sprung into action. He opened his watch and revealed a stone. "Lucario, Power Up Punch!"

The Lucario rushed forwards as its chain began to glow. It was temporarily surrounded by an encasing before it burst open. The Mega Lucario balled up its hand and dashed faster than the eye could see.

The drum played at a really fast pace, though there was a stumble in it now. The Rhyperior charged and raised its arm. When the Lucario was in range, the arm fell with a heavy crash.

Under normal circumstances, a Pokemon would've been hit due to following only the trainer's command. However, Lucario knew it had two hands. The hand that had been used for punching was in its target's gut. The other hand was holding up Rhyperior's arm. It flexed its muscles as it felt a power boost flow through its muscles. Lucario leapt back and held up its arms for the next strike.

The drum played nonstop. Jerry gave orders without hesitation. However, the two Pokemon hit a stalemate. Lucario's boosted power, no matter how strong, was canceled by the Rhyperior's considerable bulk. At the same time, Rhyperior couldn't touch Lucario because it was so slow. At that point, they were making a Michael Bay movie: violence that leads nowhere.

But after a while Rhyperior began to wobble. It still had a look of determination and power, but actions speak louder than words. Jerry saw his chance.

"Lucario, finish it!" he shouted with glee. "Close Combat!"

Lucario rushed up to the Rhyperior, intent on the end. However, upon going for the first punch, nothing happened. Lucario had run out of Power Points for Close Combat. Both Lucario and Jerry missed the Hammer Arm until it connected. Lucario was sent flying into Jerry.

"Agh…" groaned Jerry. "We should've payed attention to how much you used it." He pondered for a moment about what to do. Lucario had one move left, Aura Sphere, but it takes a while to charge up, and if Lucario is hit, it has to start over. But Jerry had an idea.

"Lucario." He stated calmly. "Use Aura Sphere in plain sight." He saw Lucario's look of concern, and he put his hand on its shoulder. "Trust me. You'll be safe." He removed his hand and snapped his fingers.

Lucario nodded and turned to Rhyperior. He focused on his hands and a ball of energy began to form. It was small, but it was progressively growing larger and larger.

Rachel grinned as she saw this. She played a fast beat, and all the rocks formed together in a way similar to what the Crustle had done. It began marching towards Lucario at a steady pace. Neither it, nor the audience, noticed that Rachel's headphones were now black.

Just as Rhyperior reared back to swing, Jerry snapped his fingers. "Rotom," he spoke. "Reflect."

Just as the stone club swung down, a barrier formed in front of Lucario. The club bounced back as it shattered. Rhyperior stumbled backwards from the force of it. Rachel realized what was about to happen and frantically played her drums. But it was too late. Jerry pointed towards the Rhyperior with a smirk.

"Lucario." He spoke "Aura Sphere."

The Pokemon rushed out of the barrier and flung the ball of aura. It struck the shiny right in its core and moved it backwards right towards Rachel. Just as the two collided, the aura exploded, sending both trainer and Pokemon into the air. They went through the ceiling and, with a twinkle in the sky, never came down.

The audience exploded in cheers and applause. Jerry ran up to Lucario and hugged him. "We did it!" he shouted. "We won!" Lucario returned the hug after reverting back to its original form. Rotom floated behind, back in its washing machine.

It was then that 2 guys and a girl came up to Jerry. They were dresses similarly to Rachel: all black and torn clothes. One of the guys had a small box in his hands.

"Dat wus a cool battle bruh!" said one of them. "You beat Rachel with her own signature! You really deserve dis badge!"

Jerry took the box and opened it up. In it, was a badge in the shape of a music note, and it also resembled a stalactite. Or was it a stalagmite?

"On behalf of Rachel," said the girl. "We will say the official words. *Ahem* Dear challenger, you have successfully defeated the gym leader. Due to this, blah blah. You've probably heard this before. Just take the badge. Congratulations. Now excuse us while we find Rachel." They ran off the stage to search for their leader.

* * *

 _7 months later_

Jerry headed down a path, Lucario at his side. He had seen some smoke down that way, and he wanted to help. He finally stopped when he saw four people next to a smoking party bus. As he got closer he noticed that it was Rachel and her band, who were standing around for help. They were delighted when they saw Jerry.

"Hey," Rachel said. "You're that one guy! Jerry, right? Aren't you, like the new champion?"

"Yup." Jerry responded proudly. "Here to help."

She giggled. "You know, you've really progressed as a trainer. More strength and skill." She looked him up and down. "And it's not just your skills that have improved." She winked at him, causing a red flush to overtake Jerry's face. He heard Lucario snicker behind him.

To distract himself, Jerry went to check the engine, followed by Rachel. The inside was not bad, but the engine was messed up.

As he finished his analysis of the engine, he suddenly felt a kiss on his cheek. Extremely red in the face, he looked over to see Rachel crouching next to him. She looked beautiful to him.

"Uh….." Jerry was at a loss for words.

"What? I wasn't kidding when I said that you had changed a lot. You're really good looking now."

"Um… Thanks?" Jerry was still a bit shocked. He stood up, closed the back of the bus, and gave his report.

"You know," she giggled. "How about this. You use your Pokemon to knock us over to the next town, like during our battle. Sound cool?"

"Doesn't sound safe, but okay. Get your group together." Jerry spoke in an automated tone.

The band stood in a cluster, facing the Mega Lucario in front of them. It had a ball of aura in its palm. Jerry pointed towards them. "Use Aura Sphere." The Lucario threw the ball at the base of the group. It burrowed slightly before exploding in a large impact. The group was launched into the air at a high speed before disappearing in a twinkle of light. Jerry stood there for a moment before turning towards Lucario.

"Let's go." He said. "We need to get back to town." They turned back towards their intended destination and headed on their way.


End file.
